In nutritional terms, satiety is a complex response, involving both an individual's emotional and physical perception of whether or not they have ingested enough. Satiety can be observed as a reduction of appetite immediately following consumption, or as a reduction of food intake at the next meal. For purposes of this specification, “satiety” refers to a net reduction of caloric intake by an individual.
As can be appreciated, control of satiety is most relevant in cases where an individual consumes more calories than are necessary. Inducing satiety can be useful for causing a reduced caloric intake, i.e., for aesthetic purposes (i.e., as a slimming aid for weight loss or weight management) or for medical treatment (for example, for treating obesity).
Various strategies for inducing satiety have been developed. One method involves inducing a nutritional response by eating a high protein diet comprising, for example whey protein. The disadvantage of using this strategy is the additional calories that are consumed in order to achieve satiety. Another strategy includes providing an alginate material that can be crosslinked with a co-administered calcium ion to form a globule that induces a feeling of fullness. However, this is disadvantageous for several reasons. First, the calcium ion must be administered within a certain time of ingestion of the alginate in order to achieve gelation, thereby risking a complete lack of efficacy if the individual is delayed or distracted. Accordingly, two-step processes are conventionally considered a serious drawback for self-administration of actives. Second, the alginate material will only gel under certain pH conditions—thus, efficacy can be impaired or even destroyed by co-ingested foods or existing stomach contents.
Therefore, what is needed is a satiety inducing composition with a gelation mechanism that does not require a separate crosslinker, and that is not pH dependent.